Perky League: Big night for All-Stars

So, as the head of the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League’s All-Star committee, the Nor-Gwyn assistant coach came up with something pretty huge.

Saturday (7 p.m.), the PVTL’s All-Stars will play the Pendel League All-Stars in their annual clash - only this time the site is Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, Del., the home of the Carolina League’s Class A Wilmington Blue Rocks.

“We were just kicking around ideas,” Delevis said, “and I thought of that. And it turns out Pete Moore (long-time Pendel pitcher) and (Pendel League president) Rob Schneider have connections with (the Blue Rocks organization), and they agreed to host our game.

“That was the first place that we pitched the idea.”

The game will be played following the conclusion of a local doubleheader, and should be a treat for the players - and coaches - selected to participate.

“It’s great,” said Nor-Gwyn manager and league vice-president Tony (Pep) DiBricida. “You’re getting an opportunity to play on a professional field, which has got to be a great thing for the players selected. I know I’m going to walk around on the field.

“A lot of guys on both rosters have played or just missed playing professionally, and it should be fun for them to play on a field like that.”

The game, Delevis said, will act as a trial run, of sorts, for future ideas the leagues have been discussing for future events.

“I know we really want to get the two champions of the Perky League and the Pendel to play a game or a series of games, perhaps a best-of-5 series,” Delevis said, “and we’d like to make it a big event.

“Maybe we can play it (at Frawley Stadium) or where the Iron Pigs play (Coca-Cola Park in Allentown) or even in Reading. This will be the dry run, to see if the interest is there.”

The primary reason Delevis continues to think on such a large scale is his desire to make baseball fans aware of the quality of the Perky League.

“We want to promote the league as much as we can,” he said. “Things like the All-Star game are a showcase for all the good players who are in this league.”

* * *With record rainfall for this area in June, the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League has been caught in a bizarre race to finish the regular season in time.

A week has already been added to the end of the regular season to help the problem. But there are still a number of teams that have taken to singing the old standard, “Rain, rain, go away.”

Skippack is one of those clubs that has been doing its drought dance, as the inclement weather has forced the Wranglers to reschedule no less than 12 games.

But as it turns out, the rain has not only thrown a few M-80s into the schedule, it has greatly affected the quality of play.

“We’re at a point where we have to play 15 games in two or three weeks,” said Skippack infielder Tom Mahoney. “We’ve been playing a game or two and then sitting for a week and then playing a game or two and sitting for a few days. It’s hard to find any consistency at the plate, as a team.

“Plus, because we’re only getting in a game or two every week, you’re seeing your opponent’s No. 1 or No. 2 pitcher all the time, which makes it tough on hitters. You’re not getting into the 3’s and 4’s like you normally would.”

The down time has had a greater effect on the hitters on veteran teams that rely on those consistent three-and four-games-per-week stretches to enable them to catch up with those players coming out of college with, sometimes, 100 at-bats already under their collective belts.

“Most of our guys just haven’t been able to get in a groove. Just about the time they start finding one, they’re sitting for a week because of weather.

“At least we’re not in the same boat as teams like Skippack. Our field (on the campus of Ursinus College) has really helped us. We’ve really only had two games rained out on this field all year.”

The phone lines between managers have been burning, but in most cases the bulk of the games done in by the weather have been rescheduled.

“We’ve had to work around everyone’s field availability,” said Pottstown player-manager Jamie Nash. “In our case, we’re sharing our field with another team. But so far everything is working out. We have everything scheduled.

“But this is the weirdest season I’ve ever been a part of.”

* * *THIS WEEK IN THE PERKY:

29 YEARS AGO - July 2, 1984 - Tom Christy struck out nine in a complete-game effort, six over the final three innings, to pitch North Wales over Lower Gwynedd, 6-4.

13 YEARS AGO - July 5, 2000 - Andrew Romberger had three hits, including a grand slam, and southpaw Frank DeMedio tossed a four-hitter to pace Ambler to a 16-2 romp over Souderton.